Heat-insulating wall.



O. J. COLEMAN.

HEAT INSULATING WALL.

APPLIUATIOH FILED MAR. 2a, 1908.

984,541 Patented Feb. 21, 1911.

. v cfle 0.17289 CLYDE J. COLEMAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

I HEAT-INSULATING WALL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 21, 1911.

' Application filed March 23, 1908. Serial No. 422,816.

To all whom may concern:

.-e it known that I, CLYDE J. COLEMAN, a citizen ofthe United States,residing in the borough of Manhattan, city 01 New York,

'in the county of New York and State of New York, have'invented acertain new and useful Improvement in Heat-Insulating Walls, of whichthe following is a specification', reference being had therein to theaccompanying drawings, forming part thereof.

My invention relates generally to heat insulatio'n and relatesparticularly to heat insulating walls such as of cold storage buildings,household refrigeratorsand compartments, and of refrigerator cars.

. The objects of m invention are to secure a high. degree of eatinsulation together with "a simple and inexpensive construction; andalso to secure flexibility of the heat insulating walls.

My invention also has other ob'ects and advantages which willappear romthe following description.

My present invention 15 related in a gen eral way to my former inventionwhich is the subject of my application for Letters Patent Serial No.397,071, filed October 12,

1907, for heat insulation, and this present invention is also generallyrelated to two other. of my inventions for which applications forLetters Patent are executed on even date herewith and are filed in thePatent Ofiice contemporaneously herewith, under Serial Numbers 422,815and 422,817, respectively.- My said inventions all employ vacuuminclosing bodies or a plurality of units each inclosing a vacuum as apart of the heat insulating construction. efliciency of a vacuum as aheat insulator has been long known, but prior to my said inventions nopractical embodiment of the same has been made in heat insulating wallsof any considerable size, such as required in the examples above noted.

My present invention is directed to producing a highly effective heatinsulating wall of any desired size and havingthe desired flexibility,and includes vacuum spaces in its construction'as .a; principalpart ofthe heat insulation.

To these ends my invention includes cylindrical vacuum inclosing bodiesor vacuum .units oneyabutting another longitudinally and assembled inthe heat insulating wall substantially parallel with the plane thereof.

My invention also includes vacuum inclos- The high ing heat insulatingunits of circular cross sectlon each provlded at one end with aprojecting sealing tip and at the other end with an indentation ordepression so that when the units are assembled in longitudinaljuxtaposition the sealing tip of one unit will enter the recess ordepression in the next adjacent unit, thus permitting compactarrangement.

My invention also includes arranging the circular elon ated vacuum unitsin layers in SllbStflIltlflF arallelism with the plane of the wall andmterposing low heat conductive material between the layers and fillingthe interstices.

' My invention also includes several details of construction and otheradvantageous features which will hereinafter appear.

I'will now describe my invent-ion with reference to the accompanyingdrawings and will thereafter'point out my invention In claims.

Figure 1 is a transverse vertical section of a heat insulating wallembodying my 111:- vention. Fig. 2 1s an elevation of the heatinsulating wall shown in Fig. 1 with portions broken away. Fig. 3 1s anenlarged detail view showing one of the vacuum i closing bodies and aportion of another S110) body, in central longitudinal section andabutted together or joined in the positions that the vacuum inclosingbodies occupy 1n the heat insulating walls of Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 isan enlarged transverse section of a vacuum inclosing unit taken on thellne of Fig. 3 looking toward the right. Fig. 5 is a detail verticalsection of a portion of a low heat conductive filling plate or spacingsheet interposed between the adjacent layers of vacuum inclosing units.Fig. 6 1s a sinular view of a fillin plate ada ted to be 1nterposedbetween t e outside ayers of vacuum inclosing units and a suitablesupport.

In the embodiment of m invention lllllS- trated in the drawings cyindrical vacuum inclosing bodies or vacuum inclosing cylinders 11 areprovided and are arranged in the wall structure abut-ting one another inlongitudinal alinement, the longitudinally alined bodies formingcontinuous cylindrical rods as indicated in the drawings. Cushioningpads 12 are interposed between the adjacentor juxtaposed ends of thebodies 11 to cushion these bodies from each other longitudinally. Thecylindrical rods, composed of the cylindrical vacuum inclosing bodies v11 and the interposed pads or cushioning disks 12, are arranged side byside in contact one with another toform a layer eX tending substantiallyparallel with the plane of the wall. The vacuum inclo sing cylinders 11include in their construction a pressure-resisting shell 13 and acushioning sleeve 161 (see Figs. 3 and at especially) cirof the adjacentlayers are arranged so that the rods of one layer break joints with therods of the other layer (Fig. 1). Supports 15 and 16 are provided forthe layers at the outside thereof and slightly spaced therefrom andfillers of low heat conductive material are provided for the spacebetween the layers and for the spaces between the outer sides of thelayers and the supports 15 and 16. The support'15 forms the outer partof the wall and may be the siding of a building or other inclosure, andthe support 16 forms the inner part of the wall and may be the ceilingor inner facing of the wall. The

low heat conductive filling between the layers.

is shown as a sheet or plate 17 provided on opposite sides with groovesofi'set from each other and having angular projecting rldges between thegrooves. The grooves in the sheet 17 conform to the rounded contour ofthe vacuum inclosing cylinders 11 which compose the cylindrical rods,and the ridges fit into the angles between the rods and fill theinterstices between the rods in the respective layers. spaces the twolayers apart' and completely fills all of the intervening space,including the interstices. The low heat conductive fill 'ing for thespaces between the outer sides of the layers and the supports 15 and 16is shown as sheets or plates 18 which are each smooth on one side toconform to the smooth surfaces of the supports 15 and 16. The othersideof each plate 18 is of like conformation to the surfaces of theplate 17, so as to conform to the contour of the cylindrical rods andfill the interstices between them at the outsides of. the layers formedthereby.

The plates or sheets 17 and 18 may be composed of any suitable material.felt impregnated with an adhesive. such as shellac varnish. and pressedor molded to shape and dried, produces good results, and

The plate 17 as' a whole.

\Vool.

that is the material used in the construction illustrated in thedrawings. At the bottom of the'wall, to secure the proper offsetrelation of the layers, a filling and supporting 'strip '19 ofsemicircular cross section 1nserted beneath one of the layers. Thisstrip as shown is composed .of-the same material asthe sheets 17 and 18,but it could be of different material and may be omitted if desired.

The alternate arrangement. of layers .of vacuum inclosing cylinders 11and low heat conductive filling sheets '17 and 18 produces moreeffective heat insulation than either the one or the other would ifemployed alone and without the other. The filling plates securelysupport the vacuum units 11, and as there are no openings or air spacesin the wall there can be no convection air currents;

To prevent heat radiation across the vacua the shells 13 of the vacuuminclosin cylinders are provided on the inside with a reflecting surface,such as a silvered surface, but such reflecting surface couldbe providedon the outside or on both sides 'of the shells 13 if desired.

The cushioning sleeve 14 may be composed of thin paper, such as tissuepaper, and may be secured to the shell- 13 by an adhesive such assizing. In the drawings the thickness of the cushioningsleeve 14 isexaggerated for the sake of elearness. The shell 13 is composed ofpressure-resisting low heat conductive material, and as this shell issealed by fusing it is formed of vitreous material, such as glass, asindicated in the drawings.

The shell 13" is provided at one end with a projecting sealing tip 20,the sealing tip being allowed to project for the sake of convenience inmanufacture. The sealing tip 20 is protected from injury by a metal cap21 which fits. loosely over it and is retained" in place by a cementfilling 22 within the cap and surrounding the sealing tip, the tip andthe ,cap each being provided with an unevenness, shown as an annularhead on the sealing tip and as a corresponding annular groove internallyof the cap, the cement filling engaging the-bead and the groove to holdthe cap in place. The other end of the shell 13 is provided with adepressedor indented portion 23 forming an external cavity or recessadapted to receive the sealing tip 20 and its protective coverings 21and 22 of the longitudinally next adjacent vacuum inclosing cylinderwhen such cylinders are assembled in a heat insulating wall structure asshown in the drawings. thus permitting the longitudinally alined unitsor cylinders to comeclose together throughout their end portions,including the circumferential portions of the ends. The cushioning pads19. may be of soft wool felt and are of considerable thickness toeffectively a 'cushion the ends of the vacuum inclosing cylinders onefrom another and so as to fill all spaces around the sealing tip whenthe pad or disk is compressed between the ends of two of the vacuuminclosing cylinders 11.

In actual practice the vacuum inclosing bodies 11 are comparativelysmall in'size,

- being substantiall of the size shown in Figs. 3 and 4 of tliedrawings. Because of the small size of the bodies or units 11 and uminclosing tubes adjacently assembled tov form a plurality of adjacentlayers spaced apart and having uneven surfaces, supports outside oftheouter layers and spaced therefrom, spacing plates interposed betweenthe layers and having uneven surfaces permanently conformed in shape-tothe uneven surfaces of the layers, and other plates interposed betweenthe outer layers and the sup ports and having their outside surfacesperlnanently conformed to the supports and havinginside uneven surfacespermanently conformed'in shape to the uneven surfaces of the adjacentlayers. 1

2. A heat insulating wall comprising cy- 40 lindrical vacuum inclosingbodies assembled in substantial parallelism with the plane of the walland one abutting another longitudinally to form continuous cylindricalrods,

such rods being arranged one in contact with another to form a pluralityof, layers spaced .apart and each substantially parallel with the planeof the wall and the rods in one layer breaking joints with the rods inan adacent layer, supports outside of the outer layers and spacedtherefrom, and sheets of low heat conductive material interposed betweenadjacent layers'and having surfaces permanently shaped to the contour ofthe rods in the layers and filling the interstices between the rods, andother sheets of low heat conductive material interposed between theouter layers and the supports and having their outside surfacesconformed to the supports and their inside surfaces permanently shapedto the contour of the rods in the layv ers and filling the interstices.

3. A heat insulating wall comprising cylindrical vacuum inclosing bodiesassembled in substantial parallelism with the plane of the wall andabutting each other longitudinally to form continuouscylindrical rods,such nggds being arranged in contact with one anothe. to form a luralityof layers spaced apart and each su bstantially parallel with the planeof the wall and the rods in one layer breaking joints with the rods inan v adjacent layer, supports outside of the outer layers and spacedtherefrom, and dry sheets composed of wool felt and an adhesiveinterposed between adjacent layers and having surfaces permanentlyshaped to the contour of the rods in the'layers and filling theinterstices between the layers, and other dry sheets of substantiallythe same material interposed between the outer layers and the supportsand having their outside surfaces conformed to the supports and theirinside surfaces permanently shaped to the contour of the rods-in thelayers and filling the interstices.

- 4. A heat insulating wall comprising cylindrical vacuum inclosingbodies assembled in substantial parallelism with the-plane of the walland one abutting another longitudinally to form continuous cylindricalrods, each of the vacuum inclosing bodies being provided with acushioning sleeve adherent-1y secured thereto, such rods being arrangedin contact with one another to form a plurality of layers spaced apartand each su stantially parallel with the plane of the wall and the-rodsin one ayer breaking joints with the rods in an djacent layer, supportsoutside of the outer layers and spaced therefrom, and low heatconductive filling material interposed between the layers and betweenthe outside layers and the supports.

5. A heat insulating wall comprising cylindrical vacuum inclosingbodiesassembled in substantial parallelism with the plane of the wall and oneabutting another longitudinally to form continuous cylindrical rods,each of the vacuum inclosing bodies being provided at oneend with aprojecting sealing tip and provided at the other end w1th a depressionada ted to receive the sealing tip of the next ad acent vacuum inclosingbody in the length of the rod, such rods being arranged in contact withone another to form a lurality of layers spaced apart and eachsubstantially parallel with the plane of the wall and the rods in one laer breaking joints with the rods in an a jacent layer, supports outsideof the outer layers and spaced therefrom, and low heat conductivefilling material interposed between the lay ers and between the outsidelayers and the supports.

6. A heat insulating wall comprising cylindrical vacuum-inclosing bodiesassembled in substantial parallelism with the plane of the wall andabutting one another longitudjnally to form continuous cylindrical rods,each' of the vacuum inclosing bodies being provided at one end with a.projecting sealing tip and; provided at the other end with a depressionadapted to receive the sealing tip of the next adjacent vacuum inclosingbody in the length of the rod, a cushioning pad interposed betweenadjacent abutting ends of the vacuum inclosing bodies, such rods beingarranged in contact with one another to form a pluralit of layers spacedapart and each substantially parallel with the plane of the wall and therods in one layer breaking joints with the rods in an adjacent layer,supports outside of the outer ayers and spaced therefrom, and low heatconductive filling material interposed between the layers and betweenthe outside layers and the supports. a

7. A heat insulating wall comprising cylindrical vacuum inclosin bodiesone abutting another longitudina y to form cylindricalrods, such rodsbeing arranged one in contact with another to form a plurality of layersspaced apart, the rods in one layer breaking joints with the rods in anadjacent layer, supports outside of the outer layers and spacedtherefrom, and sheets of low heat conductive material interposed betweenadjacent layers and having surfaces permanently shaped to the contour ofthe rods in the layers .and filling the interstices between the rods,and other sheets of low heat conductive material interposed between theouter layers and"the sup orts and having their outside surfaces conormed to the supports and'their inside surfaces permanently shaped tothe contour of the .rods in the layers and filling the interstices.

8. A" heat insulating wall com rising vacuum inclosing c linders arrange1 adjacent one with anot er to form a plurality of layegs spaced apart,the cylinders in one layer breaking joints with the cylinders in inpresence of two witnesses.

teaser ayers and fill their inside surfaces permanently shaped to thecontour of the cylindersv in the layers and filling the interstices.

9. A unit for heat insulatlng construction comprising a vacuum inclosingcylinder provlded at one end wlth a depression and provided at the otherend with a pro'ecting sealing tip, a metal protecting cap or the sealingtip fitting loosely over-the sealing tip, and a filling of cement insideof the cap and surrounding and embedding the sealing tip.

10. A unit for heat insulating construction comprising a vacuuminclosing cylinder provided at one end with a depression and provided atthe other end with a pro- .jecting sealing ti a metal protecting cap forthe sealing tip fitting loosely overthe sealing tip, and a cap-retainingfilling of 'cement interposed between the inside of the cap and thesealing tip, the cap and the sealingtip each being provided with anuneven-;

ness adapted to be engaged by the cement to hold the cap in place.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature CLE J. COLEMAN.

